I Am a Motorcoach . . .

. . . back in Washington DC. I’m a huge fan of this place – a complex but learnable system of highways and bridges and tunnels and roads, and everywhere something interesting to see. Since one or another of my garage-mates have blogged at you about DC in the past, I (Two Eight One) thought I’d follow up on the last blog theme, creativity, and give you the art side of DC.

Selfies

(which by definition means I’m in them . . . though you might have to look for me)

I have never posed with a curiosity before, so I thought I’d take the opportunity. I think it might be a praying mantis, but I’m not sure. That is just the closest thing I could find in my databank to this sculptural curiosity in front of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.

Paused (not to be mistaken with being idle or idling – idling is strictly prohibited in DC) for just a bit in the Smithsonian complex did not transform me from a big red brute machine into an artsy machine, but reflecting some of the Smithsonian Institution Building does seem to suggest cultured machine.

MEETING THE NEWS on the roadways of America, first-hand, real time, real world news—going out and discovering the news . . .

SMITHSONIAN NEWS: Kiepenkerl – a traveling peddler carrying his goods on his back. This sculpture by Jeff Koons – reminds me of myself, so I thought I’d share it with you. Maybe it’s the shiny chrome finish – kinda machine-like. Maybe it’s the idea of traveling around carrying valuables – mine being passengers. Anyway, it resonated with me. It stands outside the Hirshhorn Museum, part of the museum’s Sculpture Garden in the Smithsonian complex at the National Mall in Washington D.C. Seventeen of the nineteen Smithsonian Museums are located in D.C and eleven are on D.C.’s National Mall. Only two are outside of D.C. – one being nearby in Chantilly, Virginia and the other in New York City.

“HUGE!” WASHINGTON ART NEWS: OK, this isn’t Washington D.C. “Huge!” news. This is art news about the Washington of Mid-American Coaches fame, the Washington I call home: Washington, Missouri. Most of you know that one of my assistants (who helps me get around the country with you all), Russell Irwin, is a bit of an artist. Well, this month – Friday the 29th from 5:00 to 9:00 to be exact – he is having the Grand Opening to his studio-gallery in downtown Washington (313 Elm Street). I’ve heard there will be major eats to go with the delicious eye-candy at the gallery. (You can also check out the preparations and some of the art in advance at: www.facebook.com/artistrussellstuartirwin)

(Unlike selfies, these are not about me, but about travel discoveries I think you’d like to know about.)

The Washington Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, DC War Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, World War II Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial are all within walking distance from one another on the National Mall in Washington D.C. All are spectacular creative masterpieces – elegant art. All are thought provoking and built upon rich historical significance. And there is one more you simply MUST SEE when in DC. The Iwo Jima Memorial (History of the Marine Corps War Memorial) is located on George Washington Parkway, across the Potomac River from those other Must See memorials. (You can see here the appropriate commitment of my Borgia passengers returning from the memorial. They endured heavy rainfall along their night tour of the DC memorials.)

Quote Of The Day samples

“Creativity is putting your imagination to work, and it’s produced the most extraordinary results in human culture.” – Ken Robinson

“The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” – Sylvia Plath